Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)

There are now multiple press reports that President Obama will agree to a fiscal deal that enacts a so-called ai???Chained CPIai??? to calculate Social Security and veteransai??i?? benefits.Ai??Under this plan, ai???a person age 75 in the future will get a yearly benefit thatai??i??s $653 lower after ten years of chained CPI than that person would get under the current formula. An 85-year-old will have $1,139 less to live on.ai??? This represents a huge cut to benefits.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) told Congressional Quarterly (subscription only) that he doesn’t like the idea of the chained CPI “at all” and that his colleagues “overwhelmingly” agree with him:

Democrats sharply criticized the idea on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, but several said they hoped the White House could create a cushion to soften the impact on the neediest beneficiaries.

ai???I donai??i??t like it at all,ai??? said Sen.Ai??SherrodAi??Brown, D-Ohio, adding that his colleagues ai???overwhelminglyai??? agreed with him on the issue.